Bandoleer for cartridge, 40 mm.



June 22, 1955 SPILMAN 3,190,514

BANDOLEER FOR CARTRIDGE, 40 MM.

Filed Dec. 2, 1963 l l 1N VEN TOR.

JAMES M. SPILMAN BY 21.

T81 ATTORNE United States Patent 3,19%,514 BANDOLEER FOR CARTRIDGE, 40 MM.

James M. piiman, Rockaway, N.J., assignor to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army Filed Dec. 2, 1963, Ser. No. 327,562 3 Claims. (Cl. 224-20) (Granted under Title 35, US. Code (1952), sec. 266) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

The present invention relates to ban-doleers and more particularly to bandoleers formed of rigid material having a flap for retaining a cartridge in a fixed, safe position.

In the recent past, numerous types of cartridges have been developed requiring special handling during packing and shipping; in the field of battle, carrying in readiness for use is often difficult, even hazardous.

One type of cartridge which has presented such a problem is a shell grenade, such as the 40 mm. XM398. This cartridge is provided with a soft, thin-walled nose portion made of a material such as aluminum. It is essential that this nose portion be protected against any rough contact to preserve ballistic accuracy and to insure proper detonation.

Furthermore, the XM398 measures about an inch and a half in diameter by four inches long, and weighs about one-half pound. Obviously, any quantity of such cartridges would present an unwieldly load for a foot soldier already burdened with the materials of war.

Containers which have been used in the past for shipping such cartridges are not adaptable for field use. Bandoleers devised for field use do not afiord the necessary protection to the cartridgeit is subjected to rough handling, short drops, and even the Weight of a soldier who may have occasion to fall on it.

Applicants device provides a ready shipping container, and is equipped to withstand the roughest treatment that may be expected on the battlefield. It contains a number of pockets, each made of a hard, molda'ble material such as high-density ethylene copolymer plastic. A novel flap locks the cartridge in a pocket while at the same time prevents the fragile nose of the projectile from engaging th bottom of the pocket. The flap can be opened by a quick tug, allowing easy access to the soft-nosed cartridge.

An object of the present invention is the provision of a device which may be used to transport a cartridge to the battlefield, and then worn by an individual until the cartridges are actually removed and used.

Another object is to provide a bandoleer which is recloseable.

A further object of the invention is to provide a bandoleer which is capable of protecting its contents against the rough treatment incident to battle conditions.

Still another object is to prevent the nose of a cartridge from engaging the bandoleer in which it is being carried while protecting said nose against other contacts.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the annexed drawing which illustrates a preferred embodiment thereof.

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a single container for protectively carrying up to 3 cartridges.

FIG. 2 is a partial end view of FIG. 1 showing the relationship between a cartridge and the securing elements of the container.

The container 11 is made of a hard, weatherproof substance such as a high-density ethylene copolymer plastic. It is molded to form a number of individual receptacles 12, or pockets, each of which is provided with a small opening 13 at the base 14 thereof. The pocket is essentially an open tube large enough to envelope the sensitive or fragile portion 15 of the cartridge 15'.

The opening 13 at the base of the receptacle provides a convenient drain should the device be exposed to wet conditions. Further, it prevents the formation of a vacuum between the base of the receptacle and the encased portion of the cartridge when the cartridge is being withdrawn from said receptacle.

The cartridge is held in place by a novel flap 16 which has at one end a built-up rigid portion 17 with a lip 18 protruding perpendicularly thereto. The rigid portion is secured to one side of the pocket and extend upwardly substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the pocket. The remainder of the flap is of sufficient pliancy so as to permit it to be drawn over the head 19 of the cartridge and then down to the opposite side of the pocket.

A button 21 protruding from the side of the pocket cooperates with a modified button-hole '22 on the pliable end of the flap to effect positive temporary closing of the flap.

The lip 18 is so positioned as to fit into the extracting groove 23 of the cartridge, and render the cartridge substantially immobile with the enclosed end of the cartridge spaced from the base 14 of the pocket.

The rigidity of the pocket and the avoidance of contact between the sensitive nose area of the cartridge and the base of the pocket provide complete protection to the cartridge during most of the hazards of transportation, and, during actual carrying by the foot soldier on the battlefield.

As shown in the drawing, the carrier is constructed with extensions 24 on opposite sides to retain metal D rings 25 or the like. This permits the joining of 2. or more carriers with cloth straps 26, and permits the wearing of the carrier across the body.

While the invention has been described in connection with a specific embodiment, various modifications and other applications will occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is not desired that the invention be limited to the details illustrated and described and it is intended by the appended claims to cover all modifications which fall within the spirit and scope of the invention,

What is claimed is:

1. A cartridge carrier comprising a plurality of pockets, each of said pockets having a flap associated therewith, said flap being fixedly attached to one side of said pocket and removably attached to an opposite side of said pocket for retaining a cartridge, means carried by said flap for maintaining said cartridge in a fixed, suspended position within said pocket.

2. A rigid container provided with a plurality of pockets, each of said pockets being provided with an opening in the base thereof, and being adapted to accept a nose end of a cartridge,

a flap fixed to the back of each pocket aand removably attached to the front thereof for retaining said car- 3 tridge, and rigid means on said flap for preventing said nose end of said cartridge from contacting said base.

3. A container for cartridges comprising a plurality of pockets molded of rigid plastic,

each of said pockets being generally cylindrical to provide a close fit with a cartridge, and provided with an opening in the base thereof,

a flap associated with each of said pockets to encircle an exposed portion of said cartridge in a plane parallel to a longitudinal axis of the pocket,

said flap having a rigid portion and a pliable portion,

said rigid portion being fixed to a side of the pocket and extending upwardly therefrom,

a lip extending from said rigid portion to interlock with an extracting groove of said cartridge to maintain said cartridge in spaced relation with the base of said pocket,

and means for attaching an end of said pliable portion of the flap to said pocket.

No references cited.

HUGO O. SCHULZ, Primary Examiner. 

1. A CARTRIDGE CARRIER COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF POCKETS, EACH OF SAID POCKETS HAVING A FLAP ASSOCIATED THEREWITH, SAID FLAP BEING FIXEDLY ATTACHED TO ONE SIDE OF SAID POCKET AND REMOVABLY ATTACHED TO AN OPPOSITE SIDE OF SAID POCKET FOR RETAINING A CARTRIDGE, MEANS CARRIED BY SAID FLAP FOR MAINTAINING SAID CONTRIDGE IN A FIXED SUSPENDED POSITION WITHIN SAID POCKET. 